2019-10-12: The Shrine in the Frozen Depths
- Log: The Shrine in the Frozen Depths
- Cast: Hilde, Skylr Paer, Naelle Sylkirk, White Knight Leo, Pearl
- Where: LeFay - Shrine of the Water Trial
- Date: October 12, 2019
- Summary: After Sin appears, Althena's Guard sink below Macalania, where they are reunited with a companion thought dead and put through a trial meant for the Shepherd.
DG: A party led by Hilde is now entering Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
===================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>====================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Bubbled From Harm *>======================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
You fall.
Fall, fall, fall... into the shadowy, sapphire depths of Macalania Lake.
Perhaps it was the unending numbers of Odessa's rank and file, filtrating
through portals in endless waves. Perhaps it was the tidal wave you scarce
outran at the apex of the battle between Lombardia, Queen of the Metal
Dragons, and Sin itself. Perhaps the fierce fighting in Macalania Temple has
sent you plummeting down to the depths below.
Whatever the case may be--
You do not meet a frigid, wet end in this abyss.
(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKOJbeymd4M )
There is a blue light from below.
Slowly, but comfortably, a round sphere of water cloaks itself around you.
You find yourself dry and with air to breathe, as you descend to the
structure of an ancient shrine hidden underneath the frozen surface of
Macalania Lake.
The bubbles are pliant and sturdy, but impede your movements a little. Try
to coax yourself to float down towards the shrine... and keep tabs of who
you're with--
So that you do not risk losing each other again.
=Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
Chaos has broken out in the vicinity of Macalania Temple. Althena's Guard weren't the only ones with eyes upon it - not only did Odessa arrive, ARMS blazing, but so too did Sin appear, and after it a massive Metal Dragon.
Battle after battle was waged, and the land can only bare so much. Weakened and torn apart by fierce combat, the ground itself can only bare so much. Eventually, it gives way - sending everyone who could not escape it in time tumbling down toward the freezing depths of Lake Macalania.
Hilde, in particular, had turned her eyes upon the Sinspawn that arrived with Sin itself. As the ground gives way beneath her feet, so too does she fall...
But, before she makes contact with the water, she sees a blue light radiating out from deep down below, and finds a sphere of water emerging to envelop her - keeping her dry and supplying her with air.
The others will experience much the same.
"Fascinating..." She murmurs to herself, but looks around. She sees other allies in much the same situation.
"We must not lose sight of one another! Please, grab on to this if you are able!" She calls out. And with that, she draws out her trusty Rope Lance. Like the name implies, it's a lance with a long, sturdy cable attached to one end. Usually used to pierce the sides of giant enemies so that they can be climbed, this time she holds onto the land end and hurls the rope out of the bubble.
If someone is having difficulty moving themselves, it may just prove a convenient lifeline.
DG: Hilde has used her Tool Rope Lance toward her party's challenge, Bubbled From Harm.
<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.
It's not that Skylr didn't want to be here, it's that she'd much prefer better circumstances, you know? The battles that raged in the area of a Temple of all things makes her heart ache. Yet, thing after things happen. The Guard, Odessa, Sin, the Metal Dragon... all of it was bad. All of it makes her teeth ache, in the way too sweet candy does - a bad decision, where only one can personally decide if this was all worth it or not.
Right now, being surrounded by water, it's definitely not worth it.
The bubble, the water, it surprises her when she realizes she's warm and dry - and indeed, she sort of turns around in it, causing the bubble to start drifting in ways it shouldn't. If you've never seen Skylr panic (laughable - Skylr panicking about something is kind of traditional in this day and age), well, you get to see her turn around, at least til she focuses on someone elses voice and figure.
"Ah..."
Skylr goes for the Rope Lance, in a dogged sort of stubborn manner. Please save her, she's not very useful today.
DG: Skylr Paer has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Bubbled From Harm.
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
Naelle is agitated. The fact that Naelle has downed a bottle of her private stash of drinks, with a faded label upon which the only word that can be made out is something about EXTREME, is not helping the agitated beastwoman.
Why is Naelle agitated? Performance anxiety. The Boss is here and Naelle is still trying her best to be a good Guardswoman in his eyes. It's important to her. He was chosen to lead by Althena herself and that makes him TOTALLY AWESOME okay?
The thing is, though, that once enbubbled, Naelle is wide-eyed and curious. She gently pokes the bubble, letting out a questioning "Nya?" When it doesn't break, she sets to attempting to maneuver the bubble towards her companions. She does this by scrambling on all fours against the wall of the bubble like some sort of cat in a hamster ball. Do they make those but for cat size? That would be cruel.
This might be cruel, too, because Naelle is working so hard for so very little motion in response. But it's motion, and she has lots and lots of energy...
DG: Naelle Sylkirk has used her Tool Energy Drink toward her party's challenge, Bubbled From Harm.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
EARLIER
White Knight Leo surges forwards, slamming his blade's pommel into the helm of an Odessan soldier. A crunch splits the air as the man's armor crumples beneath the blow, and he sags to the ground. His rifle falls from numb fingers. More soldiers take aim from further downrange. "FIRE!" shouts their commander. Gunshots echo off the canyon walls as the Odessans obey that order, sending a volley of lead downrange. Leo is already digging a heel into the ground. His blade sweeps through the air, cutting clean through three of the slugs and swatting them out of the air. A fourth glances off Leo's shoulder in a jarring, painful impact.
"Do your commanders value your lives so little?" Leo says, through gritted teeth. "Then let me teach them the--"
Leo stops in mid-sentence. He heard something all too familiar--something like a wave in motion, gathering momentum as it races towards the shore.
No, Leo thinks, dread clutching at his heart. "HILDE!" Leo shouts, whirling to face her--but his fellow knight is already knee-deep in the fell creatures that follow Sin like carrion-crows. "WE HAVE TO--"
The wave crests. It washes across the battlefield, snatching up soldiers and debris. Even Odessa's Gears are caught up in the flood.
Leo stabs his blade deep into the rock, as if it will be enough. "GRAB HOLD!" he shouts to his troops.
It's not enough.
The last thing Leo sees before the water drags him under is a gleaming draconic shape..
NOW
White Knight Leo lies in another bubble, soaked to the bone and clinging to consciousness. He groans, and pushes himself upright with what feels like a Herculean exertion of strength. "Hilde?" Leo croaks. His voice is further distorted by the water. "Guardswoman Paer?" His ears twitch. No, he realizes. He's not seeing things. The White Knight looks past the skin of the bubble, at the other bubbles nearby. "Praise Althena," Leo whispers. A moment later, he drops something through his own bubble--a knotted length of rope with a hook on one end. If nothing else, it can help connect his bubble to someone else's. Hilde has the right of it.
DG: White Knight Leo has used his Tool Rope Ladder toward his party's challenge, Bubbled From Harm.
<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.
There is a figure there who was not obviously involved in the battles that broke out above Macalania, but they were there. Watching, waiting, seeing how the tide turned.
And then the land was destroyed. Everything comes plummeting into the waters below Macalania, and chaos ensues. Dropping into the water some distance away, the figure whips out with their wrist, and a grapnel flies out, looking for anything to latch onto. The rope hanging from Hilde's spear will do nicely. The grapnel fires right past Skylr's bubble, drawing attention to the figure pulling towards them. Silver hair becomes obviously visible in the deep.
Blazing through the water, surrounded by a bubble of her own, and remarkably not dead, is Guardswoman Pearl. She doesn't say anything yet, waiting to see if she can get close enough. It's all a gamble if she can latch on to the mess of ropes successfully.
She also looks a bit hazy, oddly enough. Is that just the water, or something else at play?
DG: Pearl has used her Tool Wrist-Mounted Grapnel toward her party's challenge, Bubbled From Harm.
===================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>====================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Bubbled From Harm *>======================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
You fall.
Fall, fall, fall... into the shadowy, sapphire depths of Macalania Lake.
Perhaps it was the unending numbers of Odessa's rank and file, filtrating
through portals in endless waves. Perhaps it was the tidal wave you scarce
outran at the apex of the battle between Lombardia, Queen of the Metal
Dragons, and Sin itself. Perhaps the fierce fighting in Macalania Temple has
sent you plummeting down to the depths below.
Whatever the case may be--
You do not meet a frigid, wet end in this abyss.
(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKOJbeymd4M )
There is a blue light from below.
Slowly, but comfortably, a round sphere of water cloaks itself around you.
You find yourself dry and with air to breathe, as you descend to the
structure of an ancient shrine hidden underneath the frozen surface of
Macalania Lake.
The bubbles are pliant and sturdy, but impede your movements a little. Try
to coax yourself to float down towards the shrine... and keep tabs of who
you're with--
So that you do not risk losing each other again.
=Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
==============<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial - Round 1 *>=============== =======================< Results - Bubbled From Harm >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hilde 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Rope Lance 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Naelle Sylkirk 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Energy Drink 2 Agility Effects: Cleanse and Efficient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ White Knight Leo 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Rope Ladder 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pearl 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Wrist-Mounted Grapnel 3 Agility Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Skylr Paer 0 --(5)--> 5 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Hilde 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(2) Effects: Cleanse|Quicken(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Hilde has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
They fall, but they fall together. It is a small mercy, in a day so deprived of them.
Skylr manages to grab onto Hilde's rope, and Hilde moves to reel her in to give her some added support and make sure she can't drift away. Before Hilde can reel her in fully, however, something else latches onto the rope. A grapnel is fired out, latching onto the rope, and Hilde looks in surprise at the face one responsible. She's surprised, but she doesn't object - the three of them will be able to descend together with ease.
Leo's own rope, meanwhile, manages to connect with Naelle's - she might not be getting anywhere fast, but she is getting somewhere - and eventually, Naelle and Leo join up with Hilde and the others, and together the five of them are able to descend to the source of the light.
They find themselves in a ruin of ancient stone. Though located in Spira, it is unlike any other structure they've seen within it to this point.
There are, after all, carvings of Seraphim and reliefs of the Goddess. It's distinctly Althenan iconography - but far more ancient than anything found in the modern era.
"...What is this place? How long, I wonder, has it been here...?" Hilde murmurs, but then turns toward the others. "Nevertheless, I am glad to see you all well - in a manner of speaking. I feared the worst when everyone began to fall."
She was concerned about the others that hadn't fallen with them, of course, but she would just have to hope they would be alright.
DG: White Knight Leo has drawn a new Challenge.
====================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>=====================
==========================<* CHALLENGE - Aquaphant *>===========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The very ground shakes each each step of this elephant-type Fiend's arival.
Colour-coded blue with shimmering crystalline tops, you can distinctly
recognise this as a Water-elemental Fiend... but, ah, which rules apply
here? Does Earth trump Water as in some cycles, or is it Lightning?
Make your decision fast!
=Dungeon Conditions: Overwhelm================================================
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo counts heads as he winds up his rope ladder. This isn't the entirety of the contingent he took with him, but they're his soldiers, and the fact that they're alive gives him hope for the others. "I... I don't know," Leo admits, to Hilde's question. "An Althenan temple, in this Goddess-forsaken land? It's almost--" A miracle, though he hesitates to say it out loud. "It must be here for a reason. On your feet, all of you! We must probe the depths of this place, find out why."
Pyreflies shimmer in the air ahead. Leo knows what this means, and draws his blade. "Fiend!" he shouts. The Beastman touches two fingers to the Crest around his neck, and a wave of protective power washes out from him. The White Dragon's magics cling to everyone they touch, surrounding the Guard members with a potent protective aura. The Fiend finishes taking shape, stomps a foot into the tile, and trumpets in rage.
Leo steps forwards to meet it, driving his blade at one of those massive, pillar-like legs!
DG: White Knight Leo has used his Tool White Dragon Crest toward his party's challenge, Aquaphant.
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
It truly was a mystery, but Leo's right - they wouldn't learn anything just standing around here. It was time to move on.
"At once." Hilde agrees with a nod, standing up straight. They do not get far, however, before the first sign of trouble.
"I see, so Fiends can persist even in a place like this..." She murmurs. And so, she reaches into her belongings and draws out a long staff, affixed to which is a length of cloth bearing the emblem of Althena's Guard. With one hand she drives the staff into the ground, and with the other she draws her sword, pointing it at the Fiend.
"We cannot allow this Fiend to remain. The rest of our allies may well find themselves in this same place, and they may not be as hale as we! Let us deal with it now before it can trouble anyone else." She says, by way of encouragement. "My blade is suited for rabble such as this."
And then she steps forward, a blue aura surrounding her blade. As Leo faces the beast head on Hilde dodges to the side, taking up her sword in both hands and bringing it down toward the Aquaphant in a cleaving strike.
DG: Hilde has used her Tool Battle Standard toward her party's challenge, Aquaphant.
<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.
Skylr is saved by Hilde, Althena bless. Otherwise some other group of Drifters might find her and adopt her. Again. When they land, she looks around, a thoughtful look on her face. "I don't think this place is forsaken..." Skylr says, softly, to no one in particular.
However, someone gets her attention. "Pearl!" Skylr is so happy to see her sheep-friend. Er. Fellow Guardswoman. Yes. We'll go with that. An Aquaphaunt appears, and Skylr looks thoughtful for a moment.
"You know, my mentor priestesses always said that whatever you do, so long as you believe in Althena, anything you can do will be blessed with her power!"
In the rule of cycles, Althena's lessons trump all.]
DG: Skylr Paer has used her Tool Lessons From Althena toward her party's challenge, Aquaphant.
<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.
This is not, Pearl admits, the way she had planned on reuniting with the guard, but there was little choice in the matter. When the bubbles land, and they arrive in the structure. She looks somewhat ragged, and disheveled. Days without food or sleep will do that to you. "Commander. My apologies for my absence. It took some time to return to duty." There, that's the important bit done. She's not going to say much more on it without prompting. "Guardswoman Paer. It is good to see you again."
"The goddess' reach is far indeed." She responds, as though this should be an obvious fact. Besides, it's hardly as though she hasn't encountered peoples she had rather not expected in Spira. An Althenian temple doesn't seem so strange.
The presence of a fiend, however, becomes the key matter at hand, and Pearl drops into an all too familiar battle stance. "Let us make this fiend regret attacking us."
She charges the fiend as Leo and Hilde do, taking to the opposite side Hilde takes, her clawed gloves aiming to slice into the calf of the elephant fiends' legs. If fiends have hamstrings, she's aiming to cut them.
DG: Pearl has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Aquaphant.
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
"Yes, sir, Boss!" Naelle exclaims in response to Leo's command. She stands up as straight as she can, almost as if she's trying to appear taller than she actually is. Her tail switches from side to side. The Boss has given a Command! She can be brave and--oh no it's a monster. "Nya!" Naelle sqeaks in surprise at the sheer size of the Aquaphant. It's okay, Naelle, just breathe and listen to what Skylr says. "As--as long as we believe in Althena, right?" That's actually super reassuring. Naelle believes in Althena. Naelle believes in Althena a *lot*.
She readies her wrench and looks at the Aquaphant. "All right, if you were a machine, how would I take you apart..." she muses, then shrugs, rushing into battle.
DG: Naelle Sylkirk has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Aquaphant.
====================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>=====================
==========================<* CHALLENGE - Aquaphant *>===========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The very ground shakes each each step of this elephant-type Fiend's arival.
Colour-coded blue with shimmering crystalline tops, you can distinctly
recognise this as a Water-elemental Fiend... but, ah, which rules apply
here? Does Earth trump Water as in some cycles, or is it Lightning?
Make your decision fast!
=Dungeon Conditions: Overwhelm================================================
===============<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial - Round 2 *>================ ============================< Results - Aquaphant >============================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hilde 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Battle Standard 1 Combat Effects: Embolden and Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Naelle Sylkirk 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Knight Leo 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass White Dragon Crest 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pearl 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skylr Paer 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Lessons From Althena 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Hilde 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(1)|Overwhelm Effects: Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Hilde has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
It's quite a picturesque moment. The White Knight charges forward, as Hilde plants a banner and rallies the others against the Fiend. The carved reliefs look down from the walls, as if Althena Herself were observing the actions of Her faithful.
Then the Fiend rears up, trumpets, and brings massive forefeet down in a thunderous stomp. Leo steps to the side, and digs his heels into the floor as a shockwave slams into him. Naelle is not quite as lucky. "Sylkirk!" Leo shouts, but before he can do anything, the Fiend thrusts its head forwards, driving a spear-like tusk at him. Leo meets it with his blade, barely managing to stop it.
Of course, while the Fiend is busy with Hilde, Leo, and their healer, Pearl has ample opportunity to perform her surgical strike. Her blade cuts through the creature's flesh, and as usual with Fiends, she's rewarded not with blood, but with streams of Pyreflies. The Fiend staggers beneath its own weight. Hilde and Leo close in.
A few minutes later, all that's left of the Fiend is a cloud of dissipating Pyreflies. "Pearl," Leo says, turning to the martial artist. "Goddess be praised. After Luca, I'd thought the worst--and I've never been so glad I was mistaken."
DG: Naelle Sylkirk has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>===============================
================================<* CHALLENGE - Slopeway to Heaven *>================================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
-------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------------------
A free-flowing waterfall roars throughout this open cavern, leading to an
enormous sprawl of... ramps.
The classic mechanism of raising and lowering one's elevation, Stairs, is
inconspiciously absent.
One has to wonder whether the ancients ever discerned that Drifters
challenging their locales have different needs and that it would be terribly
ableist to assume that every hero is of able body. For all their lost
technology and ancient wisdom, these advances in design space tend to be
missing...
As such, ramps! Wondrous slopes of accessible incline! Myriad planes that
criss and cross, up and down, allowing even the disadvantaged to get around
just fine. Just, uh...
This astonishing tangle of different paths... is still incredibly confusing.
But at least they're accessible.
Because you /deserve/ this!
=Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
Naelle is thrown down by the stompy creature and spends most of the remainder of the battle cowering away from it in fear. She's still trembling when they come to the ramps.
"Nya!" she cries "This is perfect! I know how this works! This is all about ramps! Ramps are simple machines! Which, I mean, I guess they can't actually be wrenched at or anything, but I have something that's perfect for solving the confusing part of this!
Naelle produces her book of blueprints, and then from around her person an implausible collection of scraps, and shortly has built a little scrapbot that totters unevenly before trotting off, apparently under its own power.
"The Cat-ographer Mark IV!" Naelle announces proudly, pulling out another odd device and feeding a sheet of folded, battered paper into it. "The bot sends back a signal to the autostylus and we get a map!" she explains.
DG: Naelle Sylkirk has used her Tool Big Book o'Blueprints toward her party's challenge, Slopeway to Heaven.
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
The Aquaphant is dealt with, and Hilde takes up the banner once more, storing it away carefully.
"I am glad to see you well, as well." Hilde comments, looking toward Pearl. She looks toward Naelle, then, taking a moment to assess her - fortunately, at least from a glance she didn't seem injured. Just reasonably startled.
As they walk, they pass by a free-flowing waterfall, eventually coming across a sprawling set of ramps. Hilde looks at it quizzically.
"Hmm. I wonder if they all lead somewhere different?" She wonders, then looks toward Naelle, who claims to have something perfect for solving this. Hilde looks on in wonder at the machine she produces.
"Oh my. Did you build that yourself?" Hilde asks, crouching down to get a better look at it. The machine trots off, then, and Hilde bows her in its direction.
"I wish you luck, my mechanical friend." She says, standing up straight and looking toward Naelle. "I see...that's quite impressive."
She doesn't have much to help with this herself, however - but at the very least she's athletic enough that she won't get tired if they have to retrace their steps a few times.
DG: Hilde has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Slopeway to Heaven.
<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.
Once the Aquaphaunt is down, Skylr relaxes, twisting her shoulders slightly as she follows the other three into the next room, which is... a lot of ramps. Not stairs - ramps. Her head tilts to the side, frowning a bit as she looks at Naelle, then nods, pulling out a beloved and well worn book from her bag. She goes through the pages slowly, looking at things, before looking up, startled.
"Slopes! She says, her eyes widening. "Any of them that have too steep of a slope, we can't use - it'd be more like climbing a mountain than a hill, you know? So there's probably paths we can't take, so if we rule all of those out, it'll likely reveal any paths... so with Naelle's stuff we should be able to elimate paths quickly and be out of here before any more ... aquaphaunts show."
"No need to go wearing ourselves out, yes?"
DG: Skylr Paer has used her Tool Book of Notes toward her party's challenge, Slopeway to Heaven.
<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.
Killing things, one might say, is the part of the job Pearl is good at. But still, killing fiends remains remarkably unsatisfying. No blood, no screams, no warm feelings as they die in agony. Really, she should have taken more opportunity to fight Yevonites, that would have been more fulfilling.
Voice is given to none of these thoughts, however, instead returning her attention to Leo. "By the grace of the goddess, I still yet draw breath. I again must apologise for taking so long to return to duty." Still, she doesn't elaborate much- she can give some sort of story later. "It is nonetheless reassuring that none of you have been claimed by battle." She gives Hilde a nod, and turns to look at Naelle. Cold grey eyes bore into the younger beastwoman, and disdain is barely visible on Pearl's often emotionless face. She then, perhaps to pre-empt Skylr berating her for not seeking a healer, speaks again. "Guardswoman Paer, when we have once again reached safety, would you see to my wounds? I am afraid some have healed... improperly." Or have been exacerbated by training, who knows.
"I shall ensure nothing attacks us from behind." Pearl says, taking up rear guard position. It's not just because her solution would be to grapple between ledges as they go down, instead of playing the maze game. Her eyes flit around for something. Her eyes settle, and there is an almost imperceptible nod.
Her eyes then turn towards the Cat-ographer, and stares at it. When it sets off, Pearl offers no further commentary.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
"On your feet, Guardswoman," Leo says, as he walks over to where Naelle is hiding. He stoops down, extends a hand, and--if Naelle takes it--helps the trembling mechanic to her feet.
When the group reaches the next chamber, Leo can't help but stop and stare at the scale of it all. "To think--this was hiding here all this time," he says. "This way!" Leo chooses a ramp, and starts walking forwards, apparently certain that he's chosen the right one.
Several minutes later, Leo walks down yet another ramp, rejoining the group. "Devious," he remarks.
Yeah, someone else is going to have to take point on this.
DG: White Knight Leo has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Slopeway to Heaven. DG: Pearl has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Slopeway to Heaven.
==============================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>===============================
================================<* CHALLENGE - Slopeway to Heaven *>================================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
-------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------------------
A free-flowing waterfall roars throughout this open cavern, leading to an
enormous sprawl of... ramps.
The classic mechanism of raising and lowering one's elevation, Stairs, is
inconspiciously absent.
One has to wonder whether the ancients ever discerned that Drifters
challenging their locales have different needs and that it would be terribly
ableist to assume that every hero is of able body. For all their lost
technology and ancient wisdom, these advances in design space tend to be
missing...
As such, ramps! Wondrous slopes of accessible incline! Myriad planes that
criss and cross, up and down, allowing even the disadvantaged to get around
just fine. Just, uh...
This astonishing tangle of different paths... is still incredibly confusing.
But at least they're accessible.
Because you /deserve/ this!
=Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
=========================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial - Round 3 *>========================== ==================================< Results - Slopeway to Heaven >================================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hilde 5 --(10)--> 15 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Naelle Sylkirk 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Big Book o'Blueprints 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Knight Leo 5 --(10)--> 15 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pearl 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skylr Paer 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Book of Notes 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ---------------------------------------------< Party >---------------------------------------------- Leader: Hilde 40 --(20)--> 60 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(2)|Overwhelm Effects: Enlighten(1) =========================================< Dream Chasers >==========================================
DG: The party led by Hilde has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Skylr Paer has drawn a new Challenge.
===================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>====================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Make Haste Slowly *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Right down this hallway, up the next, twist around towards this next room
and...
Ah. Back where you started.
The Shrine of the Water Trial, for all its advanced and mystical origin, is
quite the excruciating building to navigate. Perhaps it is the watery
reflections that confound the senses. Perhaps the way the passages twist and
turn and lead to one another, bereft of landmarks.
You'd best act fast with your backtracking, while the temple's corridors are
fresh in your mind. This is not just a physical trial, but one of mental
acuity too.
Make haste slowly.
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
Naelle is so pleased to have had the Boss notice her and *help her up* that she doesn't even notice Pearl's disdain. Eventually the Cat-ographer's map is completed and the labyrinth of ramps is overcome. Over, because, a ramp--ahem.
"It's lucky you were keeping an eye out behind us, we didn't get attacked at all!" Naelle says, apparently with complete sincerity.
<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.
"Of course, Guardswoman Pearl. I can walk and heal as well as I can walk and talk, after all." A pause. "... probably better, actually." Skylr admits, now that she's thinking about it.
Upon finding the set of ramps that give them the exit out of the room, Skylr walks with Pearl, her hands clasped in front of her as golden light gently swirls around the no longer long-lost guardswoman, not really paying attention as the group swings a right down that hallway, up the next, and then twist around towards the next room and...
"... isn't this the start of this place?" Skylr asks, suddenly, worried. "Um..." She looks around, and then starts darting back towards the one way she knows. "Run?" She suggests, at speed.
Skylr sounds exactly as lost as the group is.
DG: Skylr Paer has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Make Haste Slowly.
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
There's a lot of ramps, and they all look almost exactly the same. Even with a map, they soon find themselves...back where are they started. Hilde looks toward Skylr, then, who echoes her same thoughts.
"...Hmm. That's a bit of a bother." Hilde comments with a slight frown. She scans the area, then, eventually spotting something above them that looks different.
"Would anyone care to take a shortcut?" She asks. She draws out her Rope Lance again, weighs it in her hand experimentally, and then hurls it upward, where it strikes a wall and buries itself in. Hilde tugs on the cable experimentally to make sure its stable, then looks toward the others.
"Feel free to follow after me - if necessary, I can carry one of you with me. It's quite safe, I assure you." She says. And with that, she starts climbing her way up.
Hopefully it's new terrain, and not just somewhere they've already been.
DG: Hilde has used her Tool Rope Lance toward her party's challenge, Make Haste Slowly.
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
Naelle lets out a disgusted "Nya" as they find themselves back at the entrance. With a sigh, she pulls out a fresh bottle of the EXTREME drink.
EXTREME is a fruit ok
Freshly reinvigorated, the young beastwoman quickly navigates the path with...uh, cat-like agility, I guess. There haven't been jumping puzzles so far and that makes it less impressive sounding but Naelle is pretty quick. It's true.
DG: Naelle Sylkirk has used her Tool Energy Drink toward her party's challenge, Make Haste Slowly.
<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.
Skylr's use of the blessing is... pleasant? It heals hurts that have been aching for at least a week now. Wounds that had started to scar knit shut. It is a kindness that seems rare to the martial artist. "My thanks."
"...How did we get back here?" Frustration is writ on Pearl's furrowed brow, and she looks around the path they just came up. She was sure they had been making progress. She glances into the shadows, and back again. "Hm. A maze, then. Annoying."
She watches Hilde's lance hurl into the wall, and Pearl nods. "This is likely the best method. I am also able to assist someone up." Her eyes sure do look over at Skylr for a second or two there, before she lines up her wrist near to wear Hilde's lance has stuck. Whether she has a passenger or not, she is ready to launch up, firing the grapnel into the wall, and retracting it as the rapidly start to ascend.
DG: Pearl has used her Tool Wrist-Mounted Grapnel toward her party's challenge, Make Haste Slowly.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
"I must say," Leo says, as the group ascends the final ramp. "Whomever constructed this place was very fond of labyrinthine corridors." Ramps aren't really corridors, but, well, semantics. "But I can feel us drawing nearer--"
Leo pauses. "...How odd," he says. "This looks just like--" The White Knight trails off as Skylr confirms his nagging suspicions. He scowls, and pulls his rope ladder free. "Not to disparage the builders of this place--as I'm sure they were faithful Althenans--but that thing is likely still outside, and the sooner we find a way out of here, the better." Leo tosses the hook. It sails through the air, wraps around a railing above, and pulls tight. Leo starts to climb, one hand over the other.
DG: White Knight Leo has used his Tool Rope Ladder toward his party's challenge, Make Haste Slowly.
===================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>====================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Make Haste Slowly *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Right down this hallway, up the next, twist around towards this next room
and...
Ah. Back where you started.
The Shrine of the Water Trial, for all its advanced and mystical origin, is
quite the excruciating building to navigate. Perhaps it is the watery
reflections that confound the senses. Perhaps the way the passages twist and
turn and lead to one another, bereft of landmarks.
You'd best act fast with your backtracking, while the temple's corridors are
fresh in your mind. This is not just a physical trial, but one of mental
acuity too.
Make haste slowly.
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
==============<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial - Round 4 *>=============== =======================< Results - Make Haste Slowly >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hilde 15 --(0)--> 15 Pass Rope Lance 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Naelle Sylkirk 15 --(0)--> 15 Pass Energy Drink 2 Agility Effects: Cleanse and Efficient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ White Knight Leo 15 --(0)--> 15 Pass Rope Ladder 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pearl 10 --(0)--> 10 Pass Wrist-Mounted Grapnel 3 Agility Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Skylr Paer 15 --(5)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Hilde 60 --(20)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(1)|Overwhelm|Slow(2) Effects: Cleanse|Quicken(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Hilde has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Pearl has drawn a new Challenge.
====================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>=====================
=================<* CHALLENGE - Your Very Own Tales of Skit *>==================
|Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
Your party arrives at an antechamber anchored by a mystical point of power.
It provides protection from nearby wandering Fiends. It is also mysteriously
designed for camping equipment like Tents to be pitched and set up with
ease, just as the light-warriors of old once did.
...
So much has happened.
Odessa. The last-minute miracle of the Guts-Dozer. Lombardia. Sin. Maester
Seymour. Jyscal's sphere. And his once-assistant, Krelian.
...
There is time.
Time for you all to mentally digest everything that has happened.
Time for you to start to pick yourselves up and rebuild what has been
broken.
Time to you to affirm what you must take back. What you can't lose again.
There is time now. Take it.
Because you are all /worth/ this time.
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.
Skylr is, unfortunately, left in the dust because she's not that quick on her feet. Everyone else has some sort of movement truck or way to help pull themselves forward towards something, allowing them to make their way to the right path much more easily than she can, and, at one point, she ends up watching them turn a corner. "Waaaait...." Skylr calls out with a pout. She is eventually able to catch up, though.
Hey, they're in a new room now, too.....
<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.
The path forward reveals a place of... serenity. Calmness. A place for one to catch one's breath after all the chaos that had taken place. One could set up a tent and sleep, or set up a fire and cook. Precious moments for one to take stock of what has brought them to this place, and what they should do next. It's positively relaxing, and a good place to rest while Skylr heals.
As such, Guardswoman Pearl looks ill at ease. Her eyes flick around the room, looking for where an attack will come from, or for the trap to spring.
It doesn't.
Eventually, Pearl relents. "We should take this opportunity to rest. We know not what awaits us ahead." She doesn't sit down.
"Truly, the goddess's light must have reached even this heathen land. How could they have turned to this faith even when She is present?" There's something off about Pearl's delivery of that question. It feels slightly hollow, somehow, for those paying attention.
"Where do we go from here, Commander?" She asks Leo directly. "It will not be easy to return to surface from here." She pauses. "Assuming there is a surface to return to, once those things have finished their battle." She refers to Macalania area, but it would have helped to make that clear.
DG: Pearl has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Your Very Own Tales of Skit.
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
The place they climb up to is a pleasant and calm one. It looks to be perfectly set-up for camping equipment, something which Hilde immediately recognizes.
"Ah! Interesting." She notes. It isn't long before she's got a workable cooking fire set-up - she even appears to have brought some dishes with her. "I believe we should take advantage of this. It has been a long day, and I imagine we could all afford to fill our bellies. Do any of you have anything in particular you would like?"
She sits down in front of the fire, reaches into the pouch at her waist and produces...cooking ingredients? They look really fresh, too. She seems to have come fully prepared for this.
As she gets settled in, she looks toward Pearl as she askes her questions. She doesn't chime in, but she does consider them, quietly.
Where do they go from here...?
DG: Hilde has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Your Very Own Tales of Skit. DG: Skylr Paer has used her Tool Book of Notes toward her party's challenge, Your Very Own Tales of Skit.
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
Naelle fidgets with her tail as she sits quietly. She spends a lot of time thinking, in truth, though her mind jumps from topic to topic with enough frequency that it often seems like she's a complete airhead. She knows she's not good at other people, and she knows if she starts talking right now, while they're resting, her chatter will just annoy everyone.
Naelle doesn't want to annoy anyone, especially not the Boss. Or Hilde, who is one of her friends. Sometimes it's hard for Naelle to tell but Hilde said she was, and Naelle trusts Hilde.
Then again, she'd trusted Ivan, too.
Her tail lashes violently as she engages in mental self-recrimination over how she never noticed any of the signs. Machines are easy. Machines do what they're designed to, or they don't. But they don't lie, or turn against the Goddess.
More than anything, Naelle wants to serve Althena as best she can. She can't understand how anyone wouldn't feel the same.
Hilde offers cooking. Naelle looks up from her reverie, and, hopefully, asks, "Fishies?"
DG: Naelle Sylkirk has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Your Very Own Tales of Skit.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo waits at the door until everyone is through--including Skylr. Only then does he join his troops. "A good plan," he says, to Pearl. "Would you care to keep watch?" She looks uneasy. Giving her a task, Leo reasons, might help her feel better. The White Knight takes a seat before the thrumming point of power, crossing his legs and setting his blade down on the ground beside him. Just being near it feels... soothing, somehow. Restful. Leo doesn't even mind that his clothes are still damp.
"I don't know," Leo says, to Pearl. Is he referring to the Spirans' religion, or where they go from here, or both? "But we cannot stay here. We were fortunate that this place exists. I have faith that the answer to our troubles may lie within. And even if not, it's sanctuary, isn't it?"
Think about that, Leo reasons. Don't think about Odessa, or the war, or Ivan, or Marivel, or anything else that's happened in the last half a year.
Leo closes his eyes, and just... exists. The smell of Hilde's campfire helps. It's nostalgic.
DG: White Knight Leo has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Your Very Own Tales of Skit.
====================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>=====================
=================<* CHALLENGE - Your Very Own Tales of Skit *>==================
|Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
Your party arrives at an antechamber anchored by a mystical point of power.
It provides protection from nearby wandering Fiends. It is also mysteriously
designed for camping equipment like Tents to be pitched and set up with
ease, just as the light-warriors of old once did.
...
So much has happened.
Odessa. The last-minute miracle of the Guts-Dozer. Lombardia. Sin. Maester
Seymour. Jyscal's sphere. And his once-assistant, Krelian.
...
There is time.
Time for you all to mentally digest everything that has happened.
Time for you to start to pick yourselves up and rebuild what has been
broken.
Time to you to affirm what you must take back. What you can't lose again.
There is time now. Take it.
Because you are all /worth/ this time.
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
===============<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial - Round 5 *>================ ===================< Results - Your Very Own Tales of Skit >==================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hilde 15 --(0)--> 15 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Naelle Sylkirk 15 --(0)--> 15 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Knight Leo 15 --(0)--> 15 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pearl 10 --(0)--> 10 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skylr Paer 20 --(0)--> 20 Pass Book of Notes 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Hilde 80 --(0)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Save Point(1) Effects: Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Hilde has passed this challenge! The party gained 0 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.
"Of course, Commander." The order to take watch is is accepted without complaint. She looks around more, until she is satisfied that no threats are approaching. Her eyes linger on shadows again, and she furrows her brow again. Something is off, but... No. There is most definitely nothing in those shadows.
Still, when food is offered, Pearl shows a rare lack of control- her stomach growls. She looks frustrated with herself. "...My apologies, I must show more discipline. It has been mere days since last I ate." Since Ivan had been so kind as to provide her a meal, but doesn't mention that part. Leo would probably take it badly.
She still takes the food Hilde's cooking regardless. It is much needed sustenance. "My thanks, Guardswoman Hilde. This is a timely meal." Another look to Naelle, but Hilde had specifically asked if there were meals, so no berating the young mechanic for her pickiness. Pearl is too used to taking whatever is offered.
Still, Leo's conviction that this building is their salvation is hard to argue with. "Very well. Let us trust in the Goddess, then." Again, that rings a little hollow.
When rest is done, she starts moving first. "We know not if others will find this sanctum. We are far from the only ones who were in this region. It would be well advised to keep moving."
DG: Hilde has drawn a new Challenge.
===================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>====================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Asura's Wrath *>========================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
An enormous Hellion awaits you at the end of Lefay, the Shrine of the Water
Trial.
This is Asura.
Asura, shelled in armour and bearing three pairs of weapons -- paired battle
forks, twinned gear-like warhammers, and matched glimmering greatswords of
water. He wields each of these enormous weapons one-handed, seemingly
unencumbered.
His howl shatters the very chamber you engage him in, and combat soon
follows--
--and after several rounds at it, it's clear his six-armed guard is
impeccable.
You'll need the brilliant in your team to stop his movements.
You'll need the powerful in your team to breach his defence.
You'll need the adroit in your team slip through and deal lasting damage.
You'll need the soothing in your team to tie this plan together long enough
to work.
But that is why you are all here together now.
Past all the horrifying hardships you've survived together.
Overcome this Water Trial together.
Because you all can /do/ this.
=Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
Hilde offers Pearl a kind smile.
"It is alright. It's no surprise that you would be hungry. There will be more for you yet, once we've found our way out of this place." Hilde replies, then offers her a polite nod as she accepts the food.
Naelle, in the meantime, asks for fishies, and Hilde provides.
"Of course." She replies with a smile. She knew Naelle would be coming along, after all, and had prepared accordingly.
And so, in that way, everyone will soon find themselves with a filling meal. It's pretty delicious, all told - Hilde's a pretty good cook. Once everyone's eaten and they've cleaned up after themselves, it's time to move on.
"I agree." Hilde responds with a nod. "And after that Fiend we encountered before, there's no telling what manner of creature we may encounter."
They don't have to wait long to find out. The five of them find themselves at a rather important looking chamber. This must be the end of the shrine. And, standing before them, they find a Fiend - no, a Hellion - of great size. It's a large humanoid, clad in armor and with six arms, each one bearing a separate weapon.
It approaches with violent intent.
Hilde stands firm, once more drawing out that banner and planting it in the ground.
"Stand firm, friends! We must not - will not - falter before this beast! We fought our way here, and survived a great calamity! And we can survive this. I shall bear his strikes! I will trust the rest of you to bring it down."
With that, Hilde draws her shield. Afterward, her body suffusing itself in a blue glow, she steps forward. The Hellion - Asura - brings both of its hammers down toward her and she raises her shield. There is a terrifying metallic 'CLANG' as it clashes, but Hilde looks no worse for wear - though cracks spider through the ground where she stands from the sheer force of the impact. She swings her blade to force it back, but she cannot do appreciable damage from here.
That part will be up to you.
DG: Hilde has used her Tool Battle Standard toward her party's challenge, Asura's Wrath.
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
"Why does he have so many arms?" Naelle moans. She readies her wrench, trying to keep from trembling. It's okay. The Boss is here, and Hilde and Skylr and Naelle doesn't really know from Pearl but she seems to know her way around a fight.
Which is more than can really be said for Naelle. But, with forced enthusiasm, the beastwoman charges in anyway.
She won't let them all down, like always.
DG: Naelle Sylkirk has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Asura's Wrath.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
As it turns out, having dry clothes and a full belly does wonders to improve one's outlook on the current situation, no matter how dismal it may seem. Leo rises, picking up his blade and fastening it to his belt once again. "Whatever it is," he says, "you are all soldiers of Althena's Guard, and you have proven yourselves time and time again. There are none other I would rather have beside me." Ivan, though, whispers the traitorous voice of Leo's doubt. Leo ignores it.
As the Guard approaches the final chamber, though, Leo tenses. His ears flatten back against his head, and he cranes his neck, as if scenting the air. "...Do you smell that?" he says, to Hilde. "It's very faint, but it must be--"
Malevolence.
The door crashes open. The Hellion Leo smelled mere seconds ago comes storming out. "A /Hellion!" Leo cries. His blade all but leaps into his hands, and he strides forwards to stand beside Hilde. "Here?!" Of course, there's no time to just stand there and wonder.
A wave of pearlescent light surges outwards, encasing Leo and his companions in an aura-like shell of protective power. It blunts the impact of Aura's strike--Leo glances aside to check that yes, Hilde is still on her feet, and then steps forwards. "BACK TO THE PIT THAT SPAWNED YOU!" the White Knight roars. He brings his blade down at Asura's right knee in a two-handed chop, a strike that looks like it's pure brute force. It's not. Leo spins out of it, raises his blade to parry Asura's swords, and then swings it through a lightning-quick flurry of strikes against the Hellion's many arms.
DG: White Knight Leo has used his Tool White Dragon Crest toward his party's challenge, Asura's Wrath.
<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.
Hilde's warmth seems... unexpected to Pearl. But the Guard are like this. Strangely friendly, living without the threat of violence towards any action, wrong or right. It is a softness they can ill afford, surely. And yet, she accepts it. It is follow to refuse any advantage the enemy deigns to give you.
Asura seems unlikely to offer any such advantages, and Pearl knows it. She allows Hilde to draw it's ire, and drives left, away from the monster and towards the wall. It is not her place to bear the creature's might. That is for the foolish.
Instead, it is hers to make sure the damnable hellion falls, and she shall do that to the best of her efforts. Pearl runs UP the wall, the claws in her boots giving her moments of grip that give her height. She launches off the wall, and positions herself above the back of Asura's neck. She turns into an overhead kick, cartwheeling as she does so, aiming to drive those clawed boots into the top of the spine. A blow designed to make someone helpless, and in lots and lots of pain.
And then something unexpected happens.
The tips of her claws BURST into light, and the claws on her boots are wreathed in blinding brightness. This seems to surprise Pearl, as her eyes widen.
Her Gift is the Gift of Darkness... isn't it?
DG: Pearl has used her Tool Striking Shadow toward her party's challenge, Asura's Wrath.
===================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>====================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Asura's Wrath *>========================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
An enormous Hellion awaits you at the end of Lefay, the Shrine of the Water
Trial.
This is Asura.
Asura, shelled in armour and bearing three pairs of weapons -- paired battle
forks, twinned gear-like warhammers, and matched glimmering greatswords of
water. He wields each of these enormous weapons one-handed, seemingly
unencumbered.
His howl shatters the very chamber you engage him in, and combat soon
follows--
--and after several rounds at it, it's clear his six-armed guard is
impeccable.
You'll need the brilliant in your team to stop his movements.
You'll need the powerful in your team to breach his defence.
You'll need the adroit in your team slip through and deal lasting damage.
You'll need the soothing in your team to tie this plan together long enough
to work.
But that is why you are all here together now.
Past all the horrifying hardships you've survived together.
Overcome this Water Trial together.
Because you all can /do/ this.
=Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
==============<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial - Round 6 *>=============== =========================< Results - Asura's Wrath >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hilde 15 --(10)--> 25 Pass Battle Standard 1 Combat Effects: Embolden and Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Naelle Sylkirk 15 --(15)--> 30 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ White Knight Leo 15 --(10)--> 25 Pass White Dragon Crest 2 Combat Effects: Embolden ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pearl 10 --(10)--> 20 Pass Striking Shadow 4 Combat Effects: None ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Hilde 80 --(35)--> 115 Pass Conditions: Suffer(1) Effects: Embolden(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Hilde has successfully explored Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial!
===================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>====================
============<* CHALLENGE - The Proof of Spiritual Power - Lefay *>============
|Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
It is a long and hard-fought battle, but in the end, your team has managed
to overcome Asura.
Dissipating into motes, the Hellion gives you an approving expression, as if
it has been lifted from a great burden. At long last, you can feel, a great
and ancient anger has finally found peace at your hands.
A great, bright blue light erupts from a nearby altar and suffuses the
entire room with a feeling of power -- a feeling not dissimilar from another
trial of spiritual power you may have visited before in your travels, Uzda
il-Jam. It envelops your person for but a brief moment, but you feel your
spiritual presence strengthening further...
Acquired
Proof of Spiritual Power -- Lefay!
When the light subsides, you discover that great stone tablets have taken
their place. Engraved upon them are the secrets of powerful water and ice
magics only known to some of the most powerful mages in Lunar. If you are so
inclined, reach out and absorb the knowledge the ancients in your travels...
or if you do not possess the Gift, reach out with an object or weapon -- and
suffuse it with the power of water!
(OOC: You have discovered the spells of Waterga and Blizzaga! A character
with the Gift of Althena's Black Magic may apply for these in their next
character advancement! Alternately, if you lack the Gift, you can opt for a
water or ice enchantment on your weapon or tool.)
---
A shimmering portal erupts from the ground once you've finished your
business with the tablet. It expands further and further, until it
overwhelms your senses...
And before you know it, the scent of salt and the noise of gentle waves has
replaced the ancient ambience of the Shrine. You and your companions are
standing on a large, rusted aircraft carrier inhabited by varied folk -- the
Thames.
You have arrived in Filgaia!
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
Hilde stands firm against Asura's blow, strengthened even further by the pearlescent light that joins the blue aura already surrounding her. It allows her to weather even the mightiest of Asura's blows, keeping him occupied so that the others can deal with him.
Naelle charges in, but finds that she cannot inflict much damage. She does, however, provide a convenient distraction - Asura doesn't notice Leo as he charges in, striking at Asura's knee with a power cleaving blow, followed by a parry that leads into a flurry of quick and accurate strikes.
So occupied with Leo, it doesn't notice Pearl running up the wall, kicking off it with into a diving attack, much like a bird of prey swooping down on an unexpecting victim.
The burst of light proves as surprising to the Asura as it does to Pearl, tearing right through him. He begins to dissipate into motes as he falls...but, he looks strangely at peace - approving, even.
With the chamber's guardian felled, a bright blue light erupts from a nearby altar, suffusing everyone - filling them with a strengthening sensation.
"Miraculous..." Hilde whispers, looking at her hands. It's a spiritual strength rather than a physical one, but its impressive nonetheless - and what's more, once the light clears, they find a pair of engraved stone tablets having risen from the ground.
They positively brim with sorcerous power. It's readily identifiable as a power with its root in Althena's Gift - and, something about them entreats one to reach out for them.
Experimentally, Hilde draws out her Rope Lance. Very carefully, she brings the tip of the weapon to one of the tablet...and then, tablet and Lance both shine with an icy glow, and when it fades, its taken on a sapphire-blue sheen. A faint chill radiates off it.
"Fascinating..." Hilde murmurs. "This truly is a blessed place."
<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.
Pearl's landing is rough, and imperfect. She hadn't expected her attack to go THROUGH the hellion. She looks up, and her eyes narrow. "...So that's it." She mutters to herself. Then she stands, as the light drowns out all else. She looks upon the great stone tablets, and touches a hand to one.
The gift of Althena flows into her, and her eyes widen. "What... is this?" It's as though she has gained a new power that she does not understand. She steps back, looking at her hand. Her gloves are not imbued with frost, like Hilde's lance. Instead the Blessing seems to flow through her. That is... unexpected.
"To think, that a place such as this lay here all along."